default setting
by delightisadream
Summary: heartbreak weighs on you, secrets claw at your insides, teenagers look for any and all distractions, weddings breed (drunken) hook-ups, and cheating? ends up being inevitable. /set between s2 and s3, au where nina and eddie actually cheat. [SERIES NOW ON AO3]
1. 01 default setting ON AO3 NOW

If Eddie had gotten to go with Plan A, he wouldn't have been there. If Plan B had worked, Patricia would have been on his arm, yacking it up in his ear and sneaking kisses during the reception, holding hands underneath the table and tossing food into each other's mouths like a couple of fifth-graders. Plan C was to beg and plead and outright re_fuse_ to leave the house, probably upsetting his mom in the process but at least getting what he wanted.

As it was, he was here with Plan D, walking into his mom's best friend's wedding (her _third, _actually. He expected some of the toasts to joke about how long it'd last) with Nina right by his side.

They'd shown up separately from his mom, but suddenly that seemed like a very bad idea. He recognized a total of two people in the vicinity, and he knew the second one of the adults who'd watched him grow up spotted him, he'd be sucked into a dumb conversation about school, his future, and his love life. And he didn't have answers for any of them right now.

"Guess you're protecting _me _tonight," he muttered as they entered discreetly at a slow pace to avoid being noticed. "Ironic, huh?"

Nina smiled. "Who's gonna keep the Chosen One safe if the Osirian isn't safe himself? We'll protect each other."

There was something about her that instantly made him comfortable, not that he was often _un_comfortable. But in this setting, surrounded by people twice their age and none of which he would want to interact with, he appreciated her being there. They might not have been two Americans lost in a sea of Brits anymore, but he was still put at ease.

No one had taken their seats yet, mingling with friends they likely hadn't seen for years, and if sitting down drew attention to them then that was the last thing Eddie wanted to do. He led Nina to a corner and they lingered there, him shrugging his jacket off after only a few seconds.

"The wedding hasn't even started," she commented, a teasing tone in her voice but her hands fidgeting.

"Yeah, and since when do I listen to a rule decided by a bunch of people I don't know? I don't even listen to Victor," he retorted, his signature smirk appearing.

Nina bit back a smile and corrected, "Actually, I think I don't play by Victor's rules a little bit more than you don't. Curse and all mischievous activity."

He was about to make a hostage reference, his time trailing after Patricia and only to be caught by Rufus still fresh in his mind and his nightmares, but her eyes were already elsewhere and she was chewing on her lip. Barely, but enough that it seemed off. "Hey, are you okay?" He lowered his voice. "Not...hearing voices, right?"

She quickly shook her head, expression echoing her denial but without meeting his gaze. "No. I haven't heard any ever since I got off the plane."

Someone had definitely spotted Eddie, so he turned his back to them and crowded into Nina, hoping their conversation looked too serious to be interrupted. "Then what's up? You look off."

She gave him an affronted look, but it was too quick, too much like an out of this topic. "I _look _off?"

He snorted. "You _look_ fine. Not what I meant."

"Uh-huh." But she had a ghost of a smile on her lips now. They certainly weren't the closest of friends, but they did have an almost 'magical' connection, an invisible thread tethering them to each other. Maybe she didn't want to open up right now, but if fate had it set for her to confide in him, then she would. He shrugged, ready to let it go when she said, "Hey, there's your mom."

Nina had only met his mother once, since it was summer and Eddie made it a point to either sleep in until noon or stay far away from his mom all day, but she recognized her before he did, nudging him in the side and pointing her out. Eddie took his jacket off his shoulder and was prepared to put it back on when his mom complained, but once she looked around and started coming toward them, he saw that she wasn't alone. His hand clenched around the jacket.

"Who's that?" Nina asked him, already sending a smile his mother's way, barely moving her lips as she leaned into him.

He let out a humorless laugh. "That would be her new boyfriend."

If he wasn't so biased, maybe he could admit that his mom's arm candy could've been worse. Eddie had only heard a couple things here and there about him (and the rest from the internet), gathering that he had went to culinary school, had a young daughter with an ex-girlfriend, and was currently looking to transfer to a restaurant outside of their town. He hadn't, however, met Eddie, which made his mom bringing him along all the stranger.

"Nina!" the woman called out, moving to hug her. Eddie felt himself grimace; they didn't know each other _that_ well. "So good to see you again," she said, holding her at arm's length with a big smile on her face. "I'm glad Eddie got you here in time."

Nina grinned back, laughing. "Even before you two."

Ms. Miller motioned to her companion, crow's feet sprouting by her eyes. "This is my boyfriend, Alfonso De Luca."

Nina, ever the polite one, extended her hand first and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. De Luca."

Eddie's mouth felt dry, his tongue suddenly foreign inside it. "Alfonso," he offered when the man turned to him. What kind of a backwards introduction was it to have your boyfriend meet your son _last?_

Alfonso took back the hand he extended and gave a tightlipped smile in return. Eddie could feel his mom's eyes on him, and he did not care. One. Bit.

His mom made some small talk, asked about Nina's time at Amun and her summer plans, but Eddie was zoning out, sure the only one there more on edge than him had to be the man dating his mom. He'd never _once, _not after all these years, believed his parents would get back together. Not after all the wasted letters to his dad, not after Eric made a home for himself in Liverpool, and certainly not after learning about all the elixir shit. It was hardly a thought, and when it came to him he was never seriously banking on it. But this dimwit—hadn't his mom went on _five _dates with him? Why the fuck was he even here?

Eddie realized that his mom and _Alfonso_ had went off to mingle, that Nina was talking to him when she reached the tail end of her sentence, looking at him with concern in her eyes, but by that point he needed to leave the room. He'd never wanted to break something so badly in his life, and he felt like if he stayed a minute longer he might change that.

He muttered an excuse to Nina, something about needing air or heading to the bathroom or literally anything, and then he took a zigzagging route through the room, snagging a single wine bottle and keeping it against his leg. He wasn't sure if his mom saw him making a break for it before the wedding even began, and he didn't care. His eyes focused and unfocused as he headed for the door, and then he was walking down a hall with no endpoint in mind.

* * *

Nina found him pretty quickly, almost tripping over the hardwood-to-carpet transition before settling against the wall beside him. She didn't say anything for a moment, opened her mouth, then closed it again. Eddie shook the bottle around and wasn't seriously holding it out to her, but then she took it and drank just a little before putting it down between them.

He snorted, eyes travelling down from her face to bottle's label. "Didn't really take you for the drinking type."

"Yeah, but you're not either," she pointed out, fixing him with a light look.

"More of a sandwich guy."

"Sandwich guy," she agreed, nodding. "Just not an _everything _guy."

He made a face at her. "I'm not Alfie."

She laughed at that, leaning forward until her face was obstructed by hair. He smiled a bit.

That was another thing about her. She'd lived with her Gran for quite awhile now, had lost her parents in a car accident, had almost lost her own life to Senkhara, and yet she didn't make him feel like shit about his grumbling. Logically he knew he was luckier than her in the family aspect, but his situation was still fucked up in its own way and he had a right to be upset with it.

They were engulfed by silence, not uncomfortable but silence all the same. Eddie himself wasn't a heavy drinker, but he'd learned once or twice that it took awhile for the alcohol to hit completely. He was tipsy enough to know he'd rather go streaking through the wedding ceremony than go back inside and sit next to his mom and Alfonso, but sober enough to know he shouldn't and that he felt obligated to apologize to Nina.

"I'm sorry I dragged you out of the wedding," he said, a laugh sneaking in with the statement.

Nina shook her head. "I don't know these people. You know I'm just here for you."

He went for the bottle and accidentally rubbed wrists with her. "You sure you're not the real Osirian?"

She shook her head again, pulling her knees up as far as her dress allowed. "Special birth date. Sorry to disappoint."

They took turns swinging back the alcohol and trading banter, but Eddie knew it was going to get old fast. Eventually the ceremony would end and his mom would—hopefully—ditch her boyfriend and they would be found. He'd be dragged home and lectured and probably grounded, and then he'd still have to deal with all this shit. It infuriated him to think that everyone could make changes to his life except him.

Patricia took off with next to no explanation. Sure, he assumed she got intimidated by the 'meet the mom' thing and seeing his home and all, but they'd dealt with much scarier issues. And still she left. Just like his dad, just like his mom most nights when she went out on dates. He sighed, such a deep sigh he felt like he was trying to channel all his anger into that one exhale. Nina glanced at him, and he realized something. The one thing he had control over, the only thing was how he could protect her. His racing thoughts slowed as he became hyper aware of her body heat. Their wrists knocked again. Neither of them were reaching for the bottle this time.

"I don't really wanna stay out here," he admitted after a moment, voice hollow.

Nina nodded. "We don't have to." She let her wrist stay against his.

They were only on the cusp of being drunk when he led them to a room far away from the main events, and as they locked the door and giggled to themselves it hit him that of course she didn't care about sneaking into this bedroom. He might have been the self-proclaimed "bad boy," but she'd been locking herself in attics and cellars and exploring underground tunnels for much longer. This was almost _allowed _in comparison, and in her inebriated state along with the strange aura she'd had thus far that night, she followed without question and stumbled after him.

He already felt lighter, just being out of the hall in a new room, seemingly disconnected from the wedding. In an attempt to push himself even further from his troubles, he took out his phone and selected one of his most listened to playlists. Slipknot started playing at a respectable volume, but his stomach knotted when he recognized the song as Patricia's favorite. Nina was making a face at the music in general, so he handed her his phone and she scrolled and scrolled before picking a more upbeat playlist he wasn't even aware he had made.

They collapsed on the bed, Nina setting his phone on the nightstand and sitting beside him, nudging his wrist with hers again. He wasn't sure if she was doing it on purpose now, but it felt like he got shocked. Avoiding her eyes, he handed her the bottle and kicked off his shoes, going to work on the tie. It was way too tight, and combined with whatever scent the room had he felt like he was suffocating.

Nina gulped down a decent amount of alcohol and placed the bottle between them on the floor. She ran a hand through her hair, then he felt her eyes on him. He swallowed, keeping his gaze elsewhere as he struggled. Finally she made a noise and turned so one knee was up on the bed but both of hers were touching his leg. She grabbed his hands and moved it away from the tie, mumbling, "I have smaller fingers," before going to work.

He let his hands drop to his lap, his pinky just brushing her right knee. He flinched, and she stopped breathing for a second. The room, the alcohol, _something _was making him hotter than a few moments ago, and he pressed his legs together a bit. Now he could smell her perfume. He tried, unsuccessfully, to loosen the tie again, hands touching hers for less than a millisecond but still too long. She probably thought he did that on purpose. Maybe he had. When she finally resumed her work, he cleared his throat, desperate for some of the tension to leave the room.

"Look," he began, eyes flickering from her face and back to the bottle on the floor, "I'm not really one to beat around the bush. I know last year was—well, batshit." Nina snorted, eyelashes fluttering. "But that's behind us now. You know why I'm pissed…" He lifted his gaze to her face just as she pulled the tie loose with a flourish. "Why're you?"

Sighing, Nina flung his tie aside and shrugged off her jean jacket, tossing it onto a neighboring chair. "I'm not—_pissed, _exactly. I'm more conflicted. And worried."

He waited, eyes finding a secure spot on the hem of her dress.

There was a long pause as she collected herself. And then— "My gran's getting sick again."

His eyes snapped to hers and he knew he probably looked flabbergasted. "Oh."

"Yeah." She bit down on her lip and slowly shook her head. "She's not going to move to Liverpool. She loved traveling, but it _did _put her in the hospital—well, partially—and that would be too much. Especially if her health's already declining."

Eddie refocused on her dress, where her fingers were now fidgeting with it. "God, Nina, that sucks."

She let out a single, rough laugh. "Yeah. It does. And she doesn't want to get an in-home nurse either."

The implications of what she was saying finally caught up to him. It pieced together slowly, but his mouth moved quick. "Shit, does Fabian know?"

Her pause gave it away before she did. "He couldn't come to visit, so I've been avoiding telling him. I don't know what's going to happen, and I'm not really prepared for whenever something does."

His fingers twitched as he reached for the bottle before picking it up and holding it out to her. She stared at it, contemplating, before dismissing it with a small shake of her head. He set it back down next to the bed, wondering if anything he said could make things better.

She started again before he could attempt. "And I can't help but think—is this really just old age? Some dormant illness just coming out now?" He opened his mouth, but she continued, "How much of this is nature and how much is Senkhara's aftermath?"

"We—we banished the bitch," he blurted, only realizing how odd it sounded when their eyes met and she automatically started laughing. The absurdity of the sentence combined with the situation and the fact that they were drunk made him join immediately, a few tears messing with his vision.

"And I thank you for that," she managed to get out, coughing as their laughter died down. She wiped at her eyes, her mascara streaking slightly as she did so.

"Your—face," he said, and they were off again. They nearly banged heads as they teetered on the edge of the bed, Nina leaning onto his shoulder to stabilize herself.

When he could finally lift his head back up, she was right there. Her breath hitched, and he thought his heart skipped a beat for a moment at the closeness. But as startling as it was, as bright as her eyes burned into his, it didn't make him move away. His gaze stayed on hers, and he realized his hand had ended up holding her arm. Subconsciously he heard a fast song switch to a slower one in the background.

Her eyes didn't clear the longer they looked at each other, but they did linger and dip down a few inches just as his did. In the morning, when everything was a little less fuzzy and his head hurt and he could differentiate between the colors filtering into his room, he'd realize he moved first, but for a moment it felt like they were drawn to each other at the same time and met in an alcoholic liplock.

Nina arched into his touch, his arms encircling her waist and tracing random patterns through her dress. At first her arms wrapped around his neck, but by the time they had to pull away for air she was cupping his face. They both opened their eyes, but nothing was said, no cautionary statements, no reprimandings, just the Chosen One and her Osirian drawn back in. One of his hands slid down her leg and just barely under her dress, but her body shivered and she moved even closer to him, the same leg slipping overtop his.

From there it all blurred together into a seamless, out-of-his-control motion. He'd shed his jacket a long time ago, but his belt came undone, her sandals disappeared, and they found their way onto the bed. He hadn't checked if this was a reserved room or if it was open to the public, but either way the nightstand's contents had them covered.

When she sunk into the overly fluffy pillows she took him with her, her hands running through his hair as he squeezed her hips. The room felt like it was on fire, but he pressed his body to hers and had the overwhelming feeling that they fit together like puzzle pieces. Maybe it was the alcohol, but this didn't feel weird. This didn't feel like they shouldn't be doing this, like it was wrong. Eddie kissed her harder, and she pushed right back, hands starting to trail down his body at the same time his began moving upwards.

_Right now I'm shameless, screaming my lungs out for ya._

By the time his pants were unzipped and her dress was pushed up, he was solely working to draw good reactions out of her. He'd done this before, but only once with a girl back before he'd transferred to Amun. He was by no means experienced, but if the supreme lack of her love life throughout sophomore year was any indication, Nina was even more in the dark than him. She broke apart and let out a hot breath for a second, head tilting back, and he thought he was doing something right.

A part of him couldn't help but wonder if this was another reason they were paired together, if something about this was a match made through divine intervention, that it was inevitable. But then she circled her hips against his, and he wasn't thinking about anything.

_Not afraid to face it._

He buried his face in her hair, his ear right beside her mouth and now the only audience to all her quiet and unabashed mewling that was driving him insane. Her nails slid along his back, their breaths became shallower, and he shut his eyes, focusing only on her and the high they were chasing, not how he'd feel tomorrow.

_I need you more than I want to, need you more than I want to._

* * *

That was the last time Eddie saw her that summer. They started emailing every day, sometimes with such quick replies that he wished they'd feel comfortable texting, but texts were a lot easier to stumble upon than something in a forgotten inbox hidden among folders on his phone.

Absolutely nothing they talked about furthered what had happened that night, and they didn't speak about it explicitly either. He had a feeling she was trying to forget it too. In the light haze his buzz had given him, the details weren't completely clear but he still remembered a lot more than he wanted to. Some part of him almost wished they _would_ talk about it, that Nina would bring it up and he could get rid of the guilt weighing on his conscience, but he also wasn't going to make the first move. He'd already made a move, and that landed them here.

He tried to be content with the tiptoeing they did around the topic, tried to condition himself not to crave her presence. They'd hung out before the wedding, mostly discussing Chosen One-Osirian shit, but they'd also done that before Patricia visited and subsequently broke up with him. And when he thought of that, he was sent spiraling back to overanalyzing it and eventually ending up right back at the night they fucked up, yearning for another distraction. Because even if he wasn't necessarily romantically attracted to Nina, he was most definitely sexually attracted now; they'd become more connected than they were before. And it was fucking with his mind.

Then she sent one of her very last emails, and he fully grasped that he'd be heading back to Anubis alone. He'd be dealing with this secret himself, hiding it from all of their friends. He'd be around Patricia, his ex-girlfriend, the person he was still absolutely, entirely in love with, and he'd have to look her in the eyes not only knowing they weren't together but that he'd slept with one of her best friends.

His one consolation was that he hadn't cheated on her. He wouldn't have felt comfortable even _thinking _about returning to the UK if he had. But the problem was that he had aided Nina in cheating on _Fabian,_ had gone behind his friend's back, and in less than a month he'd be back to sharing a room with him.

And he'd have to break the news to his dad that his mom was dating again.

But that would be the easy part.

* * *

**1) obviously shameless by camila cabello wasn't out when s2-s3 was actually taking place, but idc. i'm sure you don't either.**  
**2) i doubt anyone will say i do, but ofc i'm not condoning cheating. my ex is literally getting cheated on rn and it's a whole ass ordeal, so no, i don't agree w it.**

**i'm ironicsopychotic from youtube, so if you like my hoa vids please give this fic some love! kudos, comments, bookmarks, all that jazz.**

**originally posted on ao3 on 09.09.2019**


	2. 02 out of habit ON AO3 NOW

i decided to continue this into a series! but for the better part of the past year i've been trying (and failing) to completely switch to using ao3, so here's to trying again. my ao3 account is "delightisadream," but i have a pseud titled "ironicsopsychotic" where my hoa fics go.

**SEARCH: **ironicsopsychotic out of habit

_the second installment is, obviously, titled "out of habit," and it starts at the beginning of season 3. because l.m.a.o nina comes back. :)_


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